The Six Book Awards all Book Insiders Should Follow

01 Apr 2016

There are over hundreds of thousands of novels published every year in the United States alone. That’s a whole lot of fiction. And every year, from the thousands of books, a few are deemed the very best in literature. There are several different awards in varying countries with different guidelines and restrictions. Each award has a different process, but they are all great for letting us know which books are the very best. Here’s a list of Six Book Awards given to the mightiest of pen wielders.

Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction

This prestigious prize is awarded to the best women’s fiction writing in English. The award began in 1996, in response to the all-male Man Booker Prize shortlist in 1991.

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Man Booker Prize for Fiction

The Man Booker Prize has been around since 1968, but was restricted to the United Kingdom and it’s previously owned territories, excluding the United States, until 2013. Now any English language novel can be submitted for the £50,000 ($71,935) prize.

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Costa Book Awards

The Costa Awards, previously named the Whitbread Book Awards, are awarded to stories of merit that spread the experience of enjoyment to its readers. Since its beginning in 1971, this prize is awarded exclusively to writers from Britain and Ireland.

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Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Founded in 1917, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of seven Pulitzers from the Letters, Drama, and Music category awarded every year. Limited to residents of the US, it is one of the few literary prizes with repeat winners.

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PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

Once claimed to be the largest peer-juried award in the country, the PEN/Faulkner Award is awarded each year to the best American writers of literature. The prize actually began as a portion from William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize winnings in 1949, but dissolved in 1970 before being resurrected in 1981.

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National Book Awards for Fiction

The National Book Awards began in 1936 and recognize four genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people. Limited to authors from the US published in the US, the winners receive $10,000 and a bronze statue, while the runners up receive $1,000 apiece. 

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Looking for more books to add to your To Be Read pile? The ones above are all great candidates! Check out more of our book recommendations HERE.